it’s lit.

close to 10 years ago, i remember seeing photos of toronto’s chinese latern festival at ontario place. i wanted to go and see it. i never did.

a few years ago, i saw photos of calgary’s chinese latern festival. i wanted to go and see it. i never did.

according to my memory, it’s because i couldn’t find anyone to go with; everyone i asked said no. which probably translates to me asking one person who seemed a bit hesitant, and then i never asked anyone ever again.

sometimes what i remember is much more colourful and interesting than what actually happened.

*shrugs*

i’m happy to report that this year i made it to the calgary zoo to see illuminasia – an authentic chinese lantern festival.

Erin and i wandered around the four different sections of the zoo, magically lit up to depict the four seasons, all with accompanying adorable animal lanterns.

i’d like to tell you my favourite season, but let’s be real: they all had pandas. there are no winners in that game. four-way tie.

in certain displays there were gorgeous, colourful flowers, or red and gold leaves scattered across the grass, illuminating the scene.

these sent us into a daydream of how we will decorate the backyard in our respective stepford houses. far, far in the future…mostly for me..Erin already lives in a house. i doubt i’ll ever afford one, unless my future pretend boif is super rich. never mind, i just decided that he totally is. houses for everyone!

to sum up all my rambling (does it matter? you’re only here for these incredible photos anyway): this is the last weekend to see the lanterns, so go!

i actually just kept it on manual, but turned off the flash. looking at the photos after, a longer exposure could have been nice, but keeping it simple worked well. Erin posted some photos that she took with her iPhone and those turned out beautiful, too. safe to say they are hard to ruin!